heritage of pride

Kate,

A thriving heritage depends on two things: understanding the past and valuing it to create a fantastic future.  Every June we are caught up in a whirlwind of PRIDE activities, but here in NYC, I typically find little evidence of our community’s heritage whatsoever.

It’s odd, then, that the organization that manages NYC Pride is in fact called Heritage of Pride.  One would assume that a visit to their website would lead you to information about the history of the queer rights movement in New York, or perhaps the issues that have brought this group of people together.  Instead you see a calendar of events for 2011 – which is great for early planning – along with a Pride Store, a donate button, and a list of corporate sponsors.  Bearing this in mind, what isn’t surprising is that the organization has now shortened its name to HOP and rebranded itself as New York City Pride.  They have scrubbed away heritage!  It’s really a logical shift though considering the complete absence of heritage from the work that they do.

Now, I’m not naive.  I know that events cost money and I get that.  But wouldn’t it be great to have a guerilla pride that was just a parade permit and street performers, funded by the citizens of NYC?  When I see Delta, Bud Light, and Wachovia plastered at these events and on the web, I just can’t trust it.  Sure there may be fine and lovely people at these companies who want to support a cause, but at the end of the day I can’t help but feel like there’s an ulterior motive at work.  They have a business agenda.  This isn’t about celebrating a culture and community’s heritage.  It’s about selling more Tylenol PM and Kiehl’s products.

Looking back on our June challenges, your exhibition and my flash mob, I feel true, authentic pride in the honesty of our efforts.  It was so liberating to bring people together and revel in my own gayness in Union Square in a way that didn’t feel tainted by market values.  My flash mob didn’t affect thousands of people, but a group of 25 plus tons of passersby were able to experience the freedom and joy of expressing whoever you are without limits.  And it cost next to nothing!  It’s in that spirit that Christopher Street Liberation Day began.  How many of today’s LGBT New Yorkers even know what that day is?

Thank you again for pushing me to take on that challenge.  The creative process and final result represents our community’s true heritage and its power.  Most importantly, it all makes me feel so proud.

B

i keep on fallin’

Kate,

Can you believe we’re already into month 4 of our challenges??  We’ve tackled so much this summer and it’s felt sensational to be creative and productive.  That said, the season will change to fall soon and I think some of us may have fallen a bit behind.

Falling aside, the whole autumn season really is about letting go, which always leads me right down the path of reflection.  So it’s with that inspiration that I think we should embark on our September double dares.  We’ll revisit our past challenges each week of the month, and then we’ll surprise each other with a week 4 mini-challenge!

So the first few weeks look like this:

• Week 1: Contemplating PRIDE
• Week 2: Contemplating SUPERHEROES
• Week 3: Contemplating BACK TO SCHOOL

Lastly we come to week 4.  Because it’s so easy for all of us to get wrapped up in the one billion things we have going in our lives and fall behind, I dare you to post your daily to-do list on our blog AND check-off each item.  That’s right, for the week of 9/24-9/30, you will have to blog your non-job-related tasks for the day (appointments, reading, errands, yoga class, etc.) and then let us know how you did.  The whole idea is to focus on what you need to accomplish and then make it happen.  I think it’ll be a little difficult, but for one week totally manageable.  And even more, it’s a great practice of letting go of distractions and impulsive procrastination.

At the end of the month, and with the new season upon us, you will rise up to a fantastic fall knowing you have a clean slate.  Good luck!

Brendan

back to school

Well, kind of.

This month of back to school mini-challenges has been, no surprise, quite a learning experience.  So Kate, I find it fitting that today I have enrolled in a 36-week Anatomy and Kinesiology course.

Looking back on all of the different components of the last four weeks, the moving body has been the common theme.  I learned more about Craniosacral Therapy, taught a little Pilates, and designed a graduate program for myself concentrating on the performing arts.  While I’m not ready to take on that program – yet – this month has solidified my need to wet my feet in the world of academia.  I’m craving knowledge and new inspiration.

The anatomy course I will be taking covers the musculoskeletal system and applies it to yoga asanas.  Jason Ray Brown designed the curriculum and his open house today was really enticing.  All of the people in the room expressed such an eagerness to discover the intricacies of the human body.  It’s going to be a fun community to start working with.  A lot of geeks.  Fun geeks.

Thanks for another great month.  I’ve learned a lot and I’ve reflected A LOT.

So, how’s that doc course coming along?  ; )

B

sweet sweet fantasy

Kate,

So here it is!  Part 3 of this month’s challenge.  If I could enroll in any graduate program in the world, this is what it would look like.

This has been an incredible exploration for me.  Comments/thoughts/criticisms are welcome.  Also, if you or anyone you know happens to discover that this program already exists somewhere, let me know!

B

**You might not be able to read all of the text in the video, so you can download a PDF here: GradSchoolFantasy

my name is ?

I’ve been contemplating my ideal graduate program as the final element of this month’s challenge.  With a lot of focus, I’ve identified the coursework and the key areas of interest.  Now I just have to put it all together – and name it!

What do you think of M.A. in Arts Policy and Practice?

More to come soon.

ya got that contrology

Kate!

So what if I was a Pilates teacher?  That’s what I’ve been tossing around in my head for the past few years weeks and this month’s challenge was a perfect opportunity to experiment.  Undertaking a reputable certification program someday would involve lots of time and money, so I really wanted to proactively investigate how I would feel instructing within the Pilates system.  I’ve been an on/off student for 8 years and I feel extremely comfortable with how to perform a Pilates mat workout, but articulating the exercises to someone who is totally unfamiliar made me a little nervous.  Short story: It was fantastic!

In order to make this tryout happen, a wonderful friend volunteered to come to my apartment today and be a willing and able student.  He had no prior experience or knowledge of Pilates, but he’s quite fit and knows how to work intelligently with his body.  Once he confirmed, I knew that preparation would be key to maximizing this trial session.  First, I created a lesson plan for a basic, beginner mat with some built-in flexibility depending on how it was progressing.  Then I had a couple of amazing friends give me some great advice.  One is in the process of obtaining her Pilates certification now and gave me excellent tips about setup, timing, and cues.  Another is a professional yoga teacher who shared important perspectives about working with someone in a one-on-one setting.  With all this information stored in my head, I then just had to let it happen.

And it did.  It happened.  My friend seemed to learn a lot and was interested in learning more.  What more could I ask for?  Should I want to pursue a career teaching Pilates, I definitely need some work on verbal instruction.  That said though, I am extremely positive about the whole experience.  Mostly I was excited to discover that Pilates really does excite me.  It’s a system that I believe in and feel confident about.  I would love to lose some of its language, but the movements and exercises are truly beautiful.

I also like teaching!  I have had a variety of teaching experiences in my life ranging lots of ages and lots of topics, some informal and others more professional, but none of them were recent.  I enjoy learning and I enjoy sharing what I learn.  No matter what path I may take, this week has been a clear lesson to me to find ways in which teaching can be a part of my life.

Thank you!

B

grad school fantasies

Kate,

Here’s where I’m at regarding my fantasy graduate school program.  I took some time to narrow down my vast range of interests to six areas of concentration.  How they can possibly all fit together?  TBD.  In the meantime, take a look and imagine what this program could be.  As specific and unique as it seems, I feel like there are definitely other people who would be interested in something like this.

Graduate Program Concentrations:

• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Arts Administration
• Performance/Culture Studies
• Dance/Choreography
• Human Anatomy/Kinesiology

Regarding your teaching dare, I’m making plans to put on my instructor hat this week.  Should be interesting.

Brendan

biodynamic what?

Kate,

I am thrilled to take on your challenge this month and, frankly, happy that I can do a piece of it each week.  I started with part B: having someone teach me something.  I went back and forth, over and over about what kind of information I wanted to learn, and from whom I wanted to learn it.  You know that I’m a learning addict and could be fascinated by almost any subject matter.  While there were practical considerations, I ultimately decided to take an introductory course on the principles of Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.

Biodynamic what?

Well, I’ve actually been participating in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy sessions with Tera Judell for about nine months now.  While I knew a little bit about the theories regarding this type of healing process, I thought that it would absolutely add to the benefits of these sessions for me to have a deeper understanding.  The New York Open Center had a workshop with Dr. Michael Shea and I took advantage of it.

My mind was blown.  I tried to take copious notes throughout the class, but he was citing so many studies and researchers that it was a bit hard to keep up.  Primarily, Dr. Shea believes that we are all perpetual embryos, living in a 3D fluid body.  He referenced an unpublished German study from a few years ago that revealed that adult human bodies are approximately 92% liquid and 8% solid (muscles, bones, etc.).  Even more conventional studies agree that the body is close to 70% liquid.  To contrast, the human embryo is 98% liquid – not a huge difference!  While discussing the first two weeks of embryonic development, he shared some animations of exactly what’s happening inside the female body, and within the egg.  Essentially, the embryo itself is transparent liquid for about two weeks and is developing in extraordinary ways, indicating that this liquid has a sentience.  The cells inside have an incredible intelligence.  And it’s that fluid that still composes most of our bodies today.  His therapeutic work concentrates on building a stronger relationship with your origin story, your embryonic self.

I clearly could go on and on, so if you ever want to hear more about this topic, feel free to just ask.  One more cool piece of information had to do with a practice called Cardioception.  CCARE at Stanford has performed studies recently that demonstrate that bringing your awareness to your heart and its movement actually affects the insular cortex in the brain, downregulating intense emotions and upregulating empathy.  How phenomenal is that?

So for a brief moment, I obviously wanted to become a Biodynamic Craniosacral practitioner.  I’ve come back down from the excitement of the class, but part A of your challenge was certainly a success.

Now on to part A…  I’m still trying to figure out what and who I will teach next week.  I’ve always been fascinated by and compelled to tutor young children in math.  I know that sounds random, but I’ve always been drawn to the clarity of the math world.  That probably won’t happen next week, but just a thought.

I’ve also been brainstorming a lot about my dream graduate program.  My interests academically span quite a range, so I’m working on discovering the intersections and what makes the most sense.  At what point does Kinesiology cross art policy?  We’ll see.

How’s your documentary course prep going?  Have you seen any amazing new ones yet?  Keep me posted.

B

PS – My favorite documentary right now is probably Chicago 10.

professor kate

Kate,

Just about eleven weeks ago I was out in San Francisco, surprising you, to celebrate your graduation.  I’m not sure that growing up we would have ever imagined that you would have an M.B.A., but I couldn’t be more proud of your ambition to learn and to emphasize design in business.  Your journey through the vast land of education has taken you from elementary painting classes to eighth-grade shop, from architecture summer programs to a bachelor’s degree in anthropology.  After all of these years as a student, I think it’s time for the tables to turn.

This month, you’re going to once again prepare to go back to school, but this time as a professor.  You are going to create the college-level course of your dreams.

You will need to develop the following:

• a syllabus outlining goals and essential criteria for a 15-week semester.
• a sample lesson plan for at least one class session.
• a lecture for at least one class session (could be same as above).
• a final project brief that illustrates the primary principles you will be covering.

The focus can be anything you would love to teach, but your preparation must be thorough.  Pretend you will be standing in front of a full class at the end of the month.

Use your imagination and have fun.  This process won’t be easy, but at the end you’ll have written your own course!

Good luck Professor Ranson-Walsh.

B

the minutes

So Kate, I think it’s time for a major recap of the last two weeks.  What I’d like to call: the minutes.

I’m not sure what happened this month, but there’s a serious lack of action on our blog.  The most important development though was that we hosted The Superhero Summit and raised $515 in 13 days!  In the midst of an incredibly hot month and everyone on vacation, we really pulled off something quick, fun, and charitable.  I don’t know what could be more super than that.

Our Charity: Water campaign is scheduled to run through the end of September.  It’s a tall order, but if we can somehow get to $5,000 by then, our group of donors will be associated with a specific, fully-funded water project.  We’ll be able to see a community get a brand-new well and access to clean water.  That would be stunning.  I’m going to create a poster/email blast for work and some of my friends are going to pass it around as well.

I think that you’re in possession of all of the photos from our Summit on Saturday night, so please post them ASAP!  If I may, my Storm look was pretty hot.  And your Hipster Green Lantern persona was spot on.  We had so many awesome people show up in creative, homemade costumes – from Professor Chaos and General Disarray to MTA Girl to Supermen and even Mother Earth herself.  I’m sorry for being such a mess at the end of the night, but I hope everyone had a blast.

So as we approach the end of the month I’m reflecting on how well I was able to master the natural elements, as per your challenge.  I couldn’t control the weather and curb this crazy heat wave Summer we’re having, BUT, as of this moment, 25 people will now have access to water right in their own community.  That feels like a success to me.

I know that you’ve been doing quite a bit of contemplating and writing on invisibility and how that power can manifest itself in our lives.  I can’t wait to read your thoughts and find out what you’ve discovered.

Remember not to be invisible on our blog!